catastrophe. and thousands are drawn to remember the young man who lost his life on a river. abc7 news begins in 60 seconds.

from a growing white cloud to black smoke and fire, you are seeing the chevron refinery fire from the company's own surveillance camera. good evening. i'm carolyn johnson. >> and i'm larry beil in for dan ashley. at the city council meeting residents were told that chevron failed to follow their own safety guidelines. john alston was at the meeting and he joins us now. john. >> reporter: the safety board said the pipe that failed was there for decades and it had lost over time 80% of its thickness. as you said, the board says that chevron failed to follow its own guidelines for pipe

inspection. in the moments leading up to the explosion chevron surveillance video capture the countdown on august 6th. in a split second fire appears growing bigger by the minute. the safety board released the video. investigators revealed that the 8-inch pipe that failed was so weak portions of it were only one-16th of an inch thick. there was no evidence the section of pipe was inspected last year or ever. >> however we have obtained policy documents that recommend that every segment of pipe in this service should have been included in a pipe inspection program. >> but chevron is saying that it is sorry and saying it is sorry several times is not enough. >> the plant manager read a prepared statement.

>> this is not reflective of our refinery or our company. chevron does place the highest value on safety. >> but his pr person would not let him answer questions about why it was not inspected. >> we are talking about a decision making process around our inspections. >> why is the plant manager not asking these questions. >> he is not available at the moment. >> the chevron spokesperson says they are reviewing records and they did not express assurance there may be other trouble in other pipes in this line. john alston, abc7 news. >> thank you. tonight nearly a thousand people celebrated the life of a young man who was believed to have drowned on the sacramento river. the body of 20-year-old brett olson was discovered a week after the college student disappeared. alan wang is live at the high school in lafayette tonight where the memorial took place. alan?

>> hi, carolyn. there was a huge turnout, but it wasn't much of a surprise for the family of brett olson. they witnessed how social media mobilized the media with lightning speed. >> we are utterly grief stricken of my dear, sweet boy, brad. >> his father told the crowd of a thousand how much his son loved people, and how much he loved life. >> by my estimation if you use dog year calculations as a template, i believe he lived much longer than the 20 years he actually spent on it earth. on this earth. >> olson's father expressed astonishment how his community mobilized to find brett. he disappeared during a labor day gathering called the chico float. >> and then the wave began. the social media was lit up about talk about brett's disappearance. >> within the first four hours of posting it on facebook, 17,000 people joined the effort. the next day 46,000 had joined.

eventually ballooning to more than 92,000 people. >> the world will not miss brett. we will in the deepest way, but the world must not miss the power of the focus to many that helped. >> friends say brett's parents raised him in a positive environment, and on this night his father was still trying to turn his son's death into a positive moment. >> everyone should hit the pause button and think about what happened in the search for brett, and how the collective energy could have been used for other passionate endeavors. >> the funeral for brett olson is scheduled for this saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the lafayette presbyterian church. reporting live in lafayette, alan wang, abc7 news. >> alan, thank you. anti-american tension is rach cheting up in north africa where an american diplomat has been killed in libia and mobs stormed the

embassy in cairo. both are linked to a video made by an israeli american. hard line easy law mist call it anti-muslim. it was up loaded by the pastor who sparked outrage when he burned the koran. protesters reached the embassy wall and destroyed an embassy flag. he was shot to death on the u.s. consulate in libia. on this anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a stark reminder of what was once there. two blue beams of light represent the twin towers. ceremonies in new york were kept purposefully low key. only family members spoke. president obama and first lady michelle paid visits to arlington national cemetery and the pentagon. in the south bay, a multi multi-phase picnic took place in front of the government center.

>> the gathering started with several people including a four-year-old muslim girl saying prayers promoting peace and sharing their thoughts 11 years after 9/11. >> slowly people are getting more and more educated and they are starting to understand that most of the americans born here are not a threat to the united states. >> they are 1.2 billion in the world. and 99.9% are peaceful. >> also on display the quilt symbolizing the library. >> the bay area 9/11 ceremonies included this one for the passengers and crew killed aboard san francisco-bound flight 93. firefighters in san francisco and san jose pause to remember the first responders. many of them firefighters killed at the world trade center. the san francisco ethics commission formally approved the findings that he committed official misconduct.

it was unclear when they suspended -- when the sheriff will find out if he can keep his job. the ethics commission delayed releasing transcripts to the board of supervisors. they will make the final decision to either remove him from office because of the domestic violence plea or reinstate him. the delay will give the commission time to consider a request from mercurimi to postpone the proceedings until after the november election. anticipation is building for the expected launch tomorrow of apple's iphone 5. it is believed ceo tim cook will make the announcement tomorrow at 10:00 in the morning at san francisco's yes, sir bough buena -- yerba buena center. the company spoke about the disappointing ipo. mark zuckerberg addressed crowd in san francisco. he didn't apologize for the 50% drop in the stock's price since it went public in may, but admitted that facebook needs to focus on mobile, and cited three reasons why. >> there are more users, right? obviously. the second is per person who is using facebook on mobile

there is more engagement and they are spending more time. and per the amount of time they spend on mobile, we think they will make a lot more money than we do on desktop too. >> zuckerberg hinted at new products including a google-like search engine. stock picked up to finish at $19.43. san rafael police want you to look at this armed robbery. >> they hope somebody will recognize the man who held up this shell gas station in san rafael. it happened on august 28th. nobody was hurt. police released the video today and asked anybody with information to give them a call. a san jose mayor says he will likely not fight a $35 traffic ticket. reid received the ticket this morning on his way to city hall when he was making a turn in a marked right turn lane.

20 or 30 years ago is when i got 5* moving violation. i am a cautious driver. peep watch me and are paying attention to what i do. now i will have to signal more and longer. >> the state requires drivers to signal at least 100 feet before turning. reid tells us he doesn't remember if he used his turn signal or not. now an abc7 news i team investigation about a student who slapped two students. >> dan noyes is here with more. despite -- >> despite those complaints, the teacher kept his job. but a new witness came forward after hearing our report. you will hear what he told police. and what the boy's parents are now planning to do. the brave 24-year-old woman who battled a flesh-eating bacteria. how she turned tragedy into

we have an update on the high school special ed teacher who slapped students and still kept his job. >> a key witness has now contacted police after seeing our i team investigation into the case. >> dan noyes is back now with the latest for us. >> larry and carolyn, police

told me the santa rosa school district refused to cooperate, refused to turnover the name of an adult staff member who saw this teacher striking students. now there is movement in the case. 16-year-old michael delgado told me several times last semester the special ed teacher called him into the hallway and smacked both of his ears at the same time. it is what some high school students call the thunder clab. >> -- thunder clap. >> then it makes a ringing sound. >> oh your ears made a ringing sound. i bet that hurt? >> yes. i thought i was going to lose my hearing. >> at his parents' urging the school district investigated. they did not confirm that he hit michael with the thunder clap, but found on two occasions he struck another student that way. swindle slapped michael in the face other times and flipped, pinched and pulled his ears. michael's mother confronted

the teacher when he stopped by the family's house unannounced. >> i said, so why are you hitting my kid? he is just like, you know, trying to deny it. i said, well, michael plays the victim, and you are the victim. -- and he is the victim. you struck my kid. >> the family says you struck michael. is that true? >> no, that was unfounded. they did an investigation. >> it was unfounded? >> yes. >> even after i showed him the district's findings swindle denied hitting any students. it especially upset the delgados when i found out the district refused to imif police the name of a -- refused to give police the name of a key witness, an adult staff member who worked in the class -- class m rue. they asked for the name again and again. >> the school conducted a personnel investigation and they will not provide the information to us. >> the police tell me you didn't provide this information to them. why not? >> i don't know what the police told you, dan.

>> i will show you on tv. i will be happy to tell you what we said. >> we fulfilled our disclosure requirements. >> after that aired the key witness sent an e-mail. he doesn't want to be identified. he works for another school. he is angry about the district refusing to cooperate so he has contacted police himself. in the e-mail to me he identified himself as an aid in willie swindle's class. "we all saw mr. swindle hitting his students. i believe there were eight or nine reports made from substitute teachers, teacher aids and one on one aids. i think the school wants to avoid negative press because they asked another special ed teacher to take a leave of absence last year for similar behavior." >> it is important to protect the most vulnerable citizens in the country. >> the delgados have hired a lawyer with experience suing the school district. >> i have a case where the mouth of a tour re tte syndrome boy was taped.

>> at this district? >> at this district. this is not the first time. this is the third time. this is the strikeout. >> i reached out to every member of the santa rosa city schools board of education and the president was the only one who responded. he refused to be interviewed, but they take such complaints seriously. actions were taken since this was a person neal matter, they cannot comment on the specifics of the actions. it is apparent that the parent in this matter is not satisfied, and thus the super inen it dent will be -- the superintendent will be reaching out. >> and the teacher is at the same school. >> he didn't answer how a teacher can slap two students in the head and keep his job. of course we rarely settle for a written statement from a public official at an important issue like this. i will be there at the school board meeting to press for answers, and i will report back to you.

>> we look forward to that report. >> really want to see what people have to say. >> exactly we have to find out. let's get a check of the forecast right now. >> sandhya patel is here with the warming trend. >> that's right, carolyn and larry. the temperatures will be moving on up. let's show uh time lapse from the -- let's show you a time lapse. 7:23 and notice the fog in the foreground. the marine layer stands at 1400 feet deep. let's check out live doppler 7 7hd. , and we will look at where the fog is sitting. it is right near the coast. we even have a little fog in over parts of the bay. first thing tomorrow morning you can count on some fog along the coast and around the bay. as we take you to the south and east of us, we are still seeing some rain and thunderstorms. las vegas set a record for the day in the rainfall department. over an inch of rain in the las vegas area due to the monsoon moisture and the thunderstorms. they are going with sunshine for tomorrow. this should all be moving out as we head into tomorrow.

it is just in case you decide you are traveling there tomorrow. temperatures right now in the 50s and the 60s. still pretty mild around antioch. it is 69 degrees. fog at the coast and bay tonight. sunny tomorrow. mild to warm for your wednesday. then beach weather coming your way for thursday. let's look at a little climatology. typically september is the warmest month of the year for half moon bay with an average temperature of 67 degrees. tomorrow's high 65. warming up to 70 on thursday. we will be running a little warmer than where you should be this time of year. but it is a beautiful time of year for the coastline especially. speaking of the coast, look out for the fog. half moon bay is down to two and a half miles. you will see it first thing in the morning at the coast and around the bay. 49 degrees in santa rosa, so definitely a cool start. we do have this ridge here. it is building and with this warm ridge developing we have

temperatures that will be heading in one direction for your thursday, your friday pretty warm pattern. fog pulls away from all areas tomorrow afternoon, and that fog layer gets compressed tomorrow. everyone will enjoy blue skies from coast to inland, and we hillary pete it again on thursday -- we will repeat it again on thursday with the higher readings. warm inland. 89 in livermore. 74 in oakland and a mild afternoon in palo alto. 83, san francisco is near 70 degrees tomorrow. 65 in half moon bay. getting up to 83 in santa rosa and 94 in ukiah. around the monterey bay it is a mild to warm pattern. 65 in monterey. 88 degrees in morgan hill. the accu-weather seven-day forecast, warming up thursday, friday. i would just call it hot. mid-nineties inland. near 70 degrees for your thursday at the coast. dropping it off just slightly on friday at the coastline as the fog comes back. and then a little bit cooler

for the weekend. but really no dramatic changes are coming. carolyn and larry, mike nico is here to get you out the door with the latest forecast. >> we like hot. up next, amy copeland makes her first public appearance since losing part of her arms and legss and battling a flesh-eating bacteria. >> and we have an all new afternoon lineup. it starts at 1:00 with "general hospital" now on an hour earlier" who wants to be a millionaire" is at 2:00 and followed by "jeopardy" followed by" katie" at 3:00

a georgia woman who survived a rare flesh-eating disease told katie couric today she does president take life for granted. -- she doesn't take life for granted. >> she interviewed amy copeland. doctors had to amputate part of all of her limbs. it has given her a new appreciation of all she has rather than what she has lost. >> it is so exhilarating. even more so now. it is like the senses are so deepened.

smell, everything smells better. everything is more vibrant and more colorful and even more beautiful than ever before. >> amy's family joined her on the show. this was her first tv appearance since being released in the hospital in july. >> she just started using the walker five days ago. tomorrow on "katie" heidi cliewm in her first -- heidi klum in her first interview following her pending divorce with seal. that's tomorrow on abc7. time for sports and mike shumann with a great finish to the a's game. >> the a's and angels facing quite a series. playoff-like atmosphere and cocoa crisp had a great second half of the season showing off his speed as he rounds his bases. can you say inside th have you heard of the new dialing procedure

for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out!

released less than a week after taking a line drive to his head and under going surgery. he says he plans to return to the mound as soon as possible. a's and angels in the

beautiful downtown anaheim, oakland. opens the scoring in the second inning. he delivers the second of the season. a's on top 1-0. the angel reis spawned in the -- the angels respond and a two-run blast. angels ahead 2-1. the big will you lumber. it was his 18th. top of 9 and cocoa crisp sends one down the right field line. the ball gets by tory hunter and the race is on. chris turns on the jets. he is going all the way home. he beats the throw and they cut the lead 6-5. bottom of 9. he gets him to ground into the double play. they win their 6th straight and they hold a two-game lead for the wild card. the giants will be sick of the national league west as all of the remaining months are in the division. a lot can change.

giants lost to colorado last night and handed out a loss to cash dash a loss tonight. single to right and rockies up 4-0. he started this mess and turns around and fixes it. are you kidding me? he rips a homer and his second of the season and we are tied at four. brandon bell, two r.b.i double out of the reach carlos gonzalez. buster posey and florida state both score. the giants grab a 6-4 lead. top of six and pagan delivers the r.b.i triple and ties a giant record with his 12th triple of the year and a big night for bell. he gets it with 395 feet. the 6th of the year. he goes with four r.b.i. the giants win it 9-8 and they lead six games in the national league west. hockey fans are getting anxious. the nhl's collective bargaining agreement could be

a lockout. players and the association resumed negotiations. the sharks are back in the bay area and ready for training camp. teeing it up in san jose at the annual sharks foundation golf classic. joe thorton and patrick marlow love the linc, but they are ready for the hockey sticks. >> i am an optimist, so i hope there is. i am ready to play. i have been training all summer expecting to play and to start on time. my mind process is thinking that training will start the 21st, and that's my mind set. hopefully they get something hammered sout and we will be back -- hammered out and we will be back playing. >> you hope for the best, and i know the players have great faith in don and the executive board and what they are doing in new york and toronto. >> abc7 sports report brought to you by river rock casino. >> "nightline" is up next. >> thanks for joining us. we'll see